May 19, 2017 MichiganVotes weekly roll call report

To make it a crime subject to 15 years in prison to perform a clitoridectomy, infibulation, or other female genital mutilation on person less than age 18. Claims that the procedure is required by custom or ritual would be explicitly excluded as a defense to prosecution.

Stay Engaged

To expand from 10 to 11 the number of “promise zone” tax increment financing authorities located in low income and “low educational attainment” areas, with the new one in Flint. These entities “capture" a portion of increases in school property tax revenue and use the money to partially subsidize college tuition for local students.

To prohibit a public school from suspending or expelling a child solely for truancy or chronic absence. Senate Bill 104 would require school officials to attempt to meet with a parent, and authorize legal action if other steps don't work.

House Bill 4205, Limit state department rulemaking authority: Passed 57 to 50 in the House

To prohibit a state department from promulgating rules more stringent than required by federal standards, unless specifically required by state statute, or if the department director determines "the preponderance of the evidence" shows a need to do so. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed a previous version of this proposal.

House Joint Resolution C, Protect "electronic data and communications" from unreasonable search and seizure: Passed 107 to 0 in the House

To place before voters in the next general election a constitutional amendment to add “electronic data and communications” to the Article I provision that recognizes the right of the people to be secure from unreasonable government searches and seizures of their “person, houses, papers, and possessions.”

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit http://www.MichiganVotes.org.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted,
provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly
cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by
Mackinac Center policy staff.